About one in five Canadian businesses intends to sell or transfer ownership within the next 10 years, according to Statistics Canada’s 2026 data. Business owner retirement in Canada rarely happens on its own: the finance seat is often on the same clock. The owner is thinking about an exit, and the controller or CFO who has been there for 15 or 20 years is thinking about retirement too.
That’s why CFO succession planning belongs at the start of the ownership plan. Owners, finance leaders and the wider accountant workforce are all retiring at once. The person who will help you sell, transfer or professionalize the business needs to be in the seat before the transition begins.
Key numbers: finance succession in Canada
- Statistics Canada, 2026: 20.3% of businesses intend to sell or transfer ownership within 10 years, and 37.1% don’t know yet.
- CFIB, January 2023: 76% of small business owners plan to exit within a decade, with $2 trillion in assets at stake, and only 9% have a formal succession plan.
- BDC, January 2026: 61% of small and medium-sized businesses are led by owners aged 50 or older, and nearly one in five plan to exit within five years.
- ESDC: 33% of financial auditors and accountants were 50 or older in 2023, with about 83,100 openings projected for 2024 to 2033.
- Job Bank: about 70,250 financial auditors and accountants work in the Toronto region, where retirements will open a moderate number of positions.
- RBC Economics, 2026: Canadian retirements are running at about 25,500 a month, nearly double two decades ago.
How Many Owners Plan to Exit, and How Few Have a Plan
Most small business owners expect to leave within a decade, and fewer than one in ten has a formal succession plan. A January 2023 CFIB report found 76% of owners plan to exit within 10 years and only 9% have a formal plan. About $2 trillion in business assets are in play. More recently, BDC’s January 2026 research found nearly one in five small and medium-sized business owners plan to exit within five years.
Statistics Canada’s newer data measures intent differently and lands lower. 20.3% of businesses intend to sell or transfer within 10 years, and manufacturing and wholesale trade sit among the highest at about 27%. If you run an owner-managed plant, our piece on hiring a controller for an owner-managed manufacturer covers that search in detail.
The CFIB figure that matters most for the finance seat is smaller: 39% of owners say the business depends too heavily on them. A strong finance leader is how you fix that. A buyer or successor needs numbers, lender relationships and controls that don’t live in one person’s head.
The Finance Workforce Is Aging Too
A third of Canada’s financial auditors and accountants were 50 or older in 2023, which puts the people running private-company finance on the same retirement curve as the owners. ESDC projects about 83,100 openings from 2024 to 2033, with replacement demand, mostly retirements, making up about 77%.
Closer to home, Job Bank counts about 70,250 accountants in the Toronto region. In a private company, that trend often shows up as one person: the controller who has closed the books for 20 years and carries much of the process in memory. Getting that knowledge written down comes first, and it usually takes longer than owners expect.
Canada’s Retirement Wave Stays High Through 2030
RBC Economics reports retirements running at about 25,500 a month, nearly double the pace of two decades ago, with the youngest boomers turning 65 in 2029. That keeps retirements high for the rest of the decade.
RBC’s September 2025 analysis found that nine of 21 industries have more than a quarter of their workers aged 55 or older. For Ontario employers, that means fewer experienced finance candidates and more companies competing for them at the same time.
Is the CPA Pipeline Keeping Up?
CPA Ontario’s 2026 annual report lists 106,975 members, 18,628 students and 2,396 people who passed the CFE, the CPA program’s final exam, so new CPAs keep coming. But passing the CFE and being ready to run a private company’s finance function are years apart.
New members fill staff and senior accountant seats first. The scarce seat is the controller or CFO who has owned a year-end, worked through a refinancing and supported a sale. Our Toronto accounting hiring outlook for 2026 covers this year’s demand and supply.
What This Means for a Founder-Led Private Company
If the owner plans to exit within five years, the finance leader who will help sell, transfer or professionalize the business should be in the seat well before the transition. BDC recommends starting succession planning at least 18 to 24 months before an exit. The finance seat needs more runway than that, because a new leader has to learn the business before they can present it.
What that leader needs depends on the path:
- Family transfer. The question is often whether your senior accountant can step up or you need an outside hire. Our guide to building an accounting team in the right order helps you see which rung you actually need.
- Third-party sale. CFIB found that about half of owners (49%) plan to sell to a third party with no connection to the business. Those buyers want clean statements and a finance lead who can handle due diligence without the founder in the room.
- Staying private with professional management. The founder steps back but keeps ownership. The CFO becomes the owner’s main source of truth, and reporting needs to be formal.
When you’re ready to recruit, Minted Search Group runs that permanent search for you. Our guide to hiring a controller or CFO for a Toronto private company walks through how it works.
A CFO Succession Planning Timeline
We recommend starting finance succession two to three years before the ownership transition. That’s our view from running these searches, not a survey result. It sits comfortably ahead of BDC’s 18-to-24-month planning window for the overall exit, because the new finance leader needs time to learn the business before a buyer or successor tests it.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 36 to 24 months before the transition | Assess the finance team, document processes, decide whether to promote or hire |
| 24 to 12 months before | Run the permanent controller or CFO search and overlap with the outgoing leader where possible |
| 12 months to the transition | The new leader owns the year-end, lender relationships and readiness for the sale or transfer |
| After the transition | Review the role and reporting against what the new structure needs |
If you’re setting the budget, our 2026 salary guide has current base ranges.
How Minted Search Group Helps With CFO Succession Planning
Minted Search Group is a CPA-led recruiter that places permanent controllers and CFOs in privately owned businesses. Bring us in early, and we’ll tell you whether the business needs a controller, a CFO or a stronger senior accountant before anyone writes a job description.
The search itself fits inside your plan. Our CFO searches typically run 8 to 12 weeks, and controller searches 6 to 10, so starting in the middle stage leaves room to overlap with the outgoing leader. Candidates are tested by a CPA on the actual work of the role, so your short list is people who have owned a year-end, a refinancing or a sale. And our founders run searches personally: the person who scopes the role is the person who presents the short list.
We only place permanent hires, because a succession plan needs someone who stays.
FAQ
When should we hire a CFO before the founder retires?
Start the search after you’ve assessed and documented the current team, and early enough that the new leader can own at least one full year-end before a sale or handover. BDC’s advice to begin succession planning at least 18 to 24 months before an exit is a useful floor for the overall plan.
How many Canadian business owners plan to retire in the next 10 years?
It depends on the survey. A January 2023 CFIB report found 76% of small business owners plan to exit within a decade. Statistics Canada’s 2026 data shows 20.3% of businesses intend to sell or transfer ownership in that window, with 37.1% undecided. They use different methods, so read them as a range.
Is there a shortage of accountants in Ontario?
Not across the occupation as a whole. ESDC expects labour demand and supply for financial auditors and accountants to stay broadly in line through 2033. Experienced controllers and CFOs are harder to find, and we cover why searches stall in hiring accountants in Ontario.
Should we hire an interim CFO?
We only place permanent hires, so interim cover isn’t something we provide. While the permanent search runs, many owners cover the gap internally or lean on their external accountant for year-end and tax work.
Three Waves, One Seat
Owners are planning exits, long-serving finance leaders are nearing retirement, and the broader workforce is retiring at nearly double the pace of two decades ago. In a founder-led company, all three land on the same seat. Putting the right finance leader in place early keeps your options open when the ownership decision comes.
If an owner or long-serving finance leader is within five years of stepping back, talk to Minted Search Group now. We’ll give you a straight read on timing and, when you’re ready, run the permanent controller or CFO search. See how our accounting and finance recruitment works. That’s what No Pressure, Just Possibilities means in practice.
